LEON GAUMONT

NICOLAS SEYDOUX

SIDONIE DUMAS

CHRISTOPHE RIANDEE

Our History

Combining production, distribution, and
one of the most prestigious film catalogues in the world, Gaumont has always been a major force in Cinema. Gaumont’s history
begins in 1895, when 31-year-old Léon Gaumont established himself as the Chief
of Photography. Though the creation of this company was monumental, at that
time, he did not realize that he would bring to life the only company in the
world that is as old as cinema itself.

IN THE BEGINNING

Inspired by the innovative Thomas Edison
and the Lumière brothers, Léon Gaumont believed in the future of cinematography
and invented projection equipment as early as 1900. He then worked on creating
a sound system and color system for his films: the chronophone and the
chronochrome. These notorious inventions allowed Gaumont to envision his future
and establish himself and his company as a prominent factor in Cinema.

Though Léon Gaumont was the light
that sparked Gaumont, his friends
and family frequently contributed to
the progression of the company.

In 1903, his mother’s first name – Marguerite – influenced the
company’s famous logo, a delicate daisy. In 1905, His secretary, Alice Guy recommended enlivening the
presentation of his film apparatus by selling them through the film sketches
presented by the company. With that, Alice Guy became the first female director
and producer in the world. She filmed approximately 300 films and even
experimented with sound within her films, eventually using a total of 100
phono-scenes. Her productions covered all cinematographic genres: comedy,
drama, thriller, science fiction, Westerns, and even cartoons invented by
filmmaker Emile Kohl. Later, Louis Feuillade became the artistic director of
Gaumont and directed notorious films such as Judex, Fantômas,
and the classic trilogy, Les Vampires.

In 1910,
the infamous “Gaumont News” appeared, and was shown weekly in theaters before each
film screening. Inspired by the popularity of “Gaumont News” in the theaters, that
year, Léon Gaumont bought the Place Clichy racetrack in Paris and
transformed it into a monumental cinema theater populated with 3,400 seats,
making it the largest in the world. That day, the Gaumont Palace was born. From then on,
the company bought and built theaters throughout France, forming and ensuring
an unprecedented mastery of the cinematographic network, from the manufacturing
of projection instruments to the distribution of films to the grand public.

In 1925, Léon Gaumont revolutionized the French company and signed a
distribution agreement with Metro Goldwyn Mayer – a transatlantic first– and
created a new firm, GMG, Gaumont Metro Goldwyn. Five years later, at the brink of expressive cinema, Léon Gaumont retired,
and witnessed the first change leading to the beginning of Gaumont Franco Film
Aubert (GFFA). The firm pursued the extension of Gaumont theaters and produced
numerous chefs-d’œuvre, such as the infamous L'Atalante by
Jean Vigo.

In 1938, the GFFA became the Société Nouvelle des Etablissements
Gaumont (SNEG) where Alain Poiré started as the general secretary and then
became the director of production and distribution. Across his career, this
charismatic man with an unmatched flair would produce or coproduce more than
150 feature films, including many cult films.

In 1975, Nicolas Seydoux became the president of Gaumont and gave a
new impetus to the development of the company by considerably increasing the
number of theaters and introducing an increasingly ambitious production policy.

On his arrival, Daniel Toscan du Plantier imposed an eccentric
style and initiated a European production policy combining popular successes
and avant-garde works. He also launched the concept of film-opera, specifically
with Carmen by Francesco Rosi and Don Giovanni by
Joseph Losey.

During the mid-80s, Patrice Ledoux produced Le Grand
Bleu (The Big Blue) and The Fifth Element directed
by Luc Besson, as well as Les Visiteurs byJean-Marie Poiré.

Gaumont associated itself with Pathé to build the Cinémas Gaumont Pathé, creating and developing the biggest source of theaters in Europe. With new theaters and a fleet of chefs-d’œuvre, from Tontons
Flinguers to OSS 117, from Cent Mille Dollars au
Soleil to Dîner de Cons, from La Folie des
Grandeurs to La Boum, from La Chèvre to La
Nuit de Varennes, from Fantômas to Nikita, hundreds
of millions of viewers around the world have been inspired by Gaumont's prominent role in the cinematic industry. Though each presentation is unique, they all overflow with celebrated actors, outstanding directors, and the screenwriting
of some of the most beautiful films in the industry.

These last few years, Gaumont intensified its activity by
producing, financing, and distributing films in both French and English. The
firm notoriously coproduced, distributed in France, and sold worldwide the box
office record breaking film INTOUCHABLES. Alongside a solid French line-up, the
oldest French production company also finances and co-produces English-language
films such as Anne Fontaine’s Perfect Mothers, Jean-Pierre
Jeunet’s The Young and Prestigious T.S. Spivet, and
Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives.

Today, Gaumont represents the second richest catalogue of French
films, with more than 900 films, of which are notably works of prestigious and
famous directors such as Luc Besson, Matthiey Kassovitz, Francis Veber,
Jean-Jaxques Beineix as well as award-winning directors such as Federico
Fellini, Maurice Pialat and Jean-Luc Godard.

For several years, with the creation of Gaumont Télévision in
France and internationally, and the acquisition of Gaumont Animation, Gaumont
reinforced its desire and goals to be present in all sectors of the entertainment
industry.

THE FUTURE

Gaumont is now looking to the future:
pursuing the eclectic artistic investment that will make its mark. All the
teams in the company are working on the evolution of the cinematic arts,
reinforcing what Gaumont has always been: one of the most prestigious and
prominent production company.

About Gaumont

Formed in 1895, Gaumont is the first and oldest film company in the world, with offices in Paris, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Cologne, London, and Sydney. In the past few years, the company’s release schedule has continued to increase across film and television production, in both the French and English languages.

The film library now encompasses over 1100 titles including films from such prestigious directors as Luc Besson, Matthieu Kassovitz, Francis Veber, Jean Jacques Beineix, Federico Fellini, Maurice Pialat and Jean-Luc Godard, and more recently Toledano and Nakache for The Untouchables, the highest grossing French language movie ever with over $450 million in revenue to date.

Gaumont produces and distributes high-quality TV programming worldwide. Key drama series include the award-winning Narcos for Netflix; the critically acclaimed Hannibal, the winner of “Best Series” (Festival of Fiction TV), The Frozen Dead and The Art of Crime, amongst many others.

The animated catalog comprises over 800 half-hours, broadcast in over 130 countries. Current productions include Noddy (season two) co-produced with Dreamworks, Trulli Tales, Belle & Sebastian, Furiki Wheels, and F is For Family (season four) for Netflix. In development is the series Do, Re & Mi with the multi-talented Kristen Bell.

GAUMONT LEADERSHIP TEAM

Sidonie Dumas

CEO

Sidonie Dumas

Sidonie Dumas is the CEO of Gaumont which celebrated its 120th Anniversary in 2015. Gaumont, which owns one of the richest repertoire of film in Europe, has always had an important cultural heritage policy prompting the company to restore films from its catalogue, including masterpieces which have captivated millions of viewers all around the world. Since Sidonie Dumas entered the Cinema Business and was appointed CEO of Gaumont in 2010, she created a strategy of producing movies from all walks of life and developed Gaumont's Television branch in the US in order to be more forward-looking. Thanks to this policy, Gaumont started producing international content like TV-shows such as Narcos, which was nominated BEST TELEVISION SERIES DRAMA and BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, allowing the Company to gain international stature. As she pursues the eclectic artistic investment that shapes Gaumont’s notoriety, Sidonie Dumas has produced many films that have exceeded millions of views, including The Intouchables, which alone attracted nearly 50 million viewers worldwide, becoming not only the biggest hit of Gaumont, but also the 2nd biggest French hit of all time.

Christophe Riandee

Vice CEO

Christophe Riandee

Christophe Riandee is the Vice Chief Executive Officer of Gaumont , and also serves as Vice C.E.O. for the television division of Gaumont having developed the brand on a global level in the TV business with offices in Los Angeles, London and Paris. Gaumont Television is a producer and distributor of high-quality programming for the U.S. and international markets and part of the motion picture studio Gaumont formed in 1895. Key series include Spy City, Hannibal, “Emmy nominated” Hemlock Grove for Netflix (Season 3), “Golden Globes nominated” Narcos for Netflix, and the upcoming Viva La Madness, Crosshair, Spy City, Barbarella for Canal+ and Amazon, along with the animated catalogue consisting of F is for Family for Netflix, among many others.

EXECUTIVE TEAM

Nicolas Atlan

President, Animation

Nicolas Atlan

Nicolas joined Gaumont in March 2016 and serves as President of Animation. He is responsible for overseeing the expansion of Gaumont’s animated division which includes a new US presence, along with a focus on animated feature films and television series. Nicolas joined Gaumont from Splash Entertainment where he served as co-CEO since February 2014 when the company was rebranded from Moonscoop, the company he joined in 1994. Nicolas has also served as President of Kabillion, a VOD platform for kids, that reaches more than 52 Million House Hold in the US. Nicolas is executive producer of many highly successful series, including Code Lyoko, Fantastic 4, Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch, Casper Scare School, and Kulipari: An Army of Frogs, a Netflix original series. On the feature film side, Nicolas produced the successful animated film Norm of the North that was distributed by Lionsgate in the US and was sold to more than 70 territories internationally.

Vanessa Shapiro

President, Worldwide TV Distribution & Co-Production

Vanessa Shapiro

Vanessa joined Gaumont Television in January 2017. As the President of Worldwide Distribution, Vanessa splits her time between Los Angeles and Paris and oversees Worldwide Sales & Distribution of Gaumont Television and Animation’s catalogue, Co-productions, Acquisitions, Digital Distribution and Marketing. Vanessa has an outstanding track record, experience and longstanding relationships around the world. She joins Gaumont Television from MarVista Entertainment where she served as Executive Vice President, Distribution since 2007. While at MarVista, she led the sales, marketing, and contract administration departments, while overseeing all streams of revenue reporting to the CEO. Prior to MarVista, she was with Sony Pictures Entertainment from 1997-2007, where she held numerous positions throughout her tenure ultimately serving as Director, Worldwide Pay Television from 2001-2007. Fluent in both English and French, Vanessa holds a Masters Degree in Political Science and International Finance from Institut d’Etudes Politiques d’Aix-en-Provence, France (Sciences Po Aix).

Gene Stein

President, Television US

Gene Stein

Gene joined Gaumont in October 2015. As US Television President, Gene oversees all aspects of the US Television division including production, development, business affairs and finance. Prior to Gaumont, Gene was CEO of Sonar Entertainment where he executive produced The Shannara Chronicles for MTV and helped develop Taboo (FX), The Son (AMC), and Mr. Mercedes (AT&T's Audience Network). Previously, Gene was President of Television at BermanBraun, where he developed and executive produced such shows as Dig (USA), Camp (NBC), Mercy (NBC), and Alphas (Syfy). Additionally, Gene executive produced Less Than Perfect (ABC) at Touchstone Television, and developed and supervised the first season of Everybody Loves Raymond, as well as King of Queens, Yes, Dear and Becker at CBS. Gene co-chairs the Alliance for Children’s Rights annual comedy fundraiser, which has raised millions of dollars over the past few years, for foster and impoverished children in Los Angeles County.

US TV, PRODUCTION & CREATIVE AFFAIRS

Leslie Belzberg

SVP, Production, Television US

Leslie Belzberg

Before coming to Gaumont, Leslie Belzberg most recently served as SVP at Miramax, overseeing both television and film production including Bad Santa 2 and From Dusk Till Dawn season three. In her prior role as Senior Vice President, Scripted Production, at Shine America, she was in charge of production for the Peabody Award-winning series The Bridge (FX) and Fox’s event series Gracepoint. Additionally, Belzberg produced the Scorpion King: Rise of the Dead and served as executive producer on the film Crazy Heart, which earned Jeff Bridges an Academy Award® for Best Actor. Belzberg has a long-standing relationship with director John Landis, co-creating the production company St. Clare Entertainment and producing HBO's Dream On, USA Network's Weird Science, Fox's Sliders, Disney's Honey I Shrunk the Kids and more. She has also served as producer on several features for Landis including Beverly Hills Cop III and Coming to America.

Johanna Byer

VP, Creative Affairs, Film US

Johanna Byer

Johanna Byer is the Vice President of Creative Affairs at Gaumont – tasked with the job of launching their new US film division. A magna cum laude graduate of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, Byer concentrated on the Business of Cinematic Arts, an obvious selection given her steadfast interest in the intersection of business and film.

Byer was most recently the Vice President of Development at Working Title Films, one of the world’s leading production companies, where she aided in the development of their slate of films. Byer co-produced Warner Brothers’ WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS, a film directed by Max Joseph, that starred Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, and Emily Ratajkowski.

Byer began her career at Brillstein Entertainment Partners where she assisted talent manager and partner Cynthia Pett. Byer is also a board member of the acclaimed non-profit organization, Jewish National Fund and is a member of the Young Producers Circle of the Center Theater Group. Byer was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, a place she is proud to call home.

Alex Hunter

VP, Creative Affairs, Television US

Alex Hunter

As Vice President of Creative Affairs at Gaumont, Alexandra Hunter oversees the studio’s series Narcos and F is For Family, as well as identifies, shepherds, and packages projects on the company’s development slate.
Prior to joining the Gaumont team in 2015, Alexandra worked at Sony Pictures Television and The Walt Disney Studios. During her tenure at Sony Pictures Television, Alexandra oversaw development and production of over 300 hours of television content across several international territories, most notably the award-winning adaptation of Everybody Loves Raymond and critically acclaimed original series The Eighties. While at the Walt Disney Studios, Alexandra oversaw development and production of the first ever local language Disney-branded feature film The Book of Masters.

ANIMATION

Terry Kalagian

SVP, Creative Development, Animation & Family

Terry Kalagian

Terry Kalagian is a multifaceted entertainment executive with almost twenty years experience across various disciplines of the entertainment industry including IP development strategy, creative and business development, content sourcing, acquisitions and co-productions. She has assisted both U.S. and international entertainment organizations drive new business and develop, acquire, and produce new properties for both children and family audiences. She is proud to have worked with such respected companies as Mattel, Marvel, Cartoon Network, Polygon Pictures, ADK (Asatsu-DK), Rainmaker Entertainment, and Blink Studios to name a few.

Kimberly Dennison

VP, Creative Development, Animation & Family

Kimberly Dennison

Kimberly Dennison joined the Gaumont team in April 2018 as VP, Creative Development, Animation & Family working on series and movie projects for a range of audiences. Prior to joining Gaumont, Kimberly served as Director, Development for Walt Disney TV Animation where she developed both original and Disney-branded properties. Over the course of her career, Kimberly has served as a network executive, and has developed, produced and voice directed a wide range of animated projects for studios and networks including Walt Disney, the Hub Network and Rainmaker Entertainment. She has been fortunate to work with content featuring beloved characters and brands such as Transformers, Littlest Pet Shop, Big Hero 6 and Strawberry Shortcake.

Alex Soto

Creative Director, Creative Development, Animation & Family

Alex Soto

WORLDWIDE TV, DISTRIBUTION, ACQUISITIONS & CO-PRODUCTIONS

Cécilia Rossignol

VP, International TV Sales, Scripted

Cécilia Rossignol

Cécilia Rossignol joined Gaumont in 2017 as the Vice President of International TV Scripted Sales. Rossignol, who previously worked at Newen, 100% Distribution, and most recently FranceTV Distribution, is responsible for selling and pre-selling Gaumont’s U.S. and French television programming within the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) territories, as well as solidifying partnerships for European co-productions.

Laura Laas

VP, International TV Sales, Animation

Laura Laas

Laura Laas joined Gaumont in 2017 as the Vice President of Television Sales. She is charged with selling the company’s animation slate within EMEA and North America, as well as securing international co-production partners.
Before joining Gaumont, Laas most recently served as International Sales Manager at France TV Distribution, where she created and oversaw global distribution strategies for animation content. Her resume also includes previous posts at Toei Animation Europe and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Eze Olzanski

VP, Latin America TV Distribution and Co-Production

Eze Olzanski

Eze Olzanksi carries over 20 years experience on the Broadcasting Industry, and more than 10 in the International Market, first at Endemol and then as Director of International Sales & Distribution for Snap & MarVista Entertainment, and with more than 5 years as NETFLIX aggregators specialized on the international business. With the absolute understanding that “Content is King”, and centered on the programming needs of every client to bring them the best titles for their screens, his goal is to develop the best strategy for international distribution, considering every right, window and territory in Latam & US Hispanic, as well as helping to bring local content to the world, from Premium Pay, to Basic Cable, Free TV and VOD platform. As of January 2018, Eze officially joined Gaumont as the Vice President of Latin American TV Distribution and Co-Production.

Ben Bishop

VP, International TV Sales Australia, New Zealand, Asia

Ben Bishop

Mathilde Rottier

VP, U.S. and Canada TV Distribution

Mathilde Rottier

Mathilde Rottier joined Gaumont as Vice-President, TV Distribution, US & Canada in January 2018 and is responsible for linear and digital sales of Gaumont television series and animation in North America and films in the U.S.
She joined Gaumont from Miramax where she most recently served as Vice-President, North America Sales. Having joined the company in 2011, she successfully licensed theatrical releases such as the upcoming Whitney (2018), Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016) and The Wedding Ringer (2015) to major cable networks and leading SVOD platforms. During her time at Miramax, Mathilde oversaw the distribution of over 700 titles (278 Academy Award nominations, 68 Academy Awards) including Best Picture The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love, Chicago and No Country for Old Men as well as iconic titles such as Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting and Amelie. In addition, she also represented the Revolution Studios catalogue and the Samuel Goldwyn Trust library, and during her tenure, held many positions at the studio including Head of Sales for France. Prior to Miramax, Mathilde was at MGM where she served as VP, North America Sales and represented over 4,000 titles and negotiated licensing agreements for NBC Universal and the James Bond franchise. Mathilde was born in Paris and grew up in French Polynesia and attended UC Berkeley.

US BUSINESS AFFAIRS

Tim Stephen

Head of Legal and Business Affairs

Tim Stephen

Tim joined the Gaumont team in October 2014 and became Head of Business Affairs in December of 2016 where he currently overseas the development and negotiations for all US Television, Features, Acquisitions and Merchandising. Prior to Gaumont, Tim helped build the multi-platform and production firm Generate from a startup to a nationally recognized digital and television studio responsible for more than 100 projects and served as the President of Adam Productions. In addition, he executive-produced the family-oriented television movies "Holy Joe" (CBS), starring John Ritter, and "'Twas the Night" (Disney Channel), starring Bryan Cranston for G16 Productions. With more than 20 years of executive experience across a broad range of entertainment-industry disciplines, Tim found a deep, abiding interest in law after graduating from Loyola Marymount Law School. In his personal time, Tim is a first-degree black belt in aikido and enjoys golf, mountain climbing and fly fishing.

Anne Bartnett

SVP, Business Affairs, US

Anne Bartnett

Anne Bartnett joined Gaumont in November 2012. She is responsible for the day to day legal and business affairs on the television series “Narcos” and “F is for Family.” She also negotiates and drafts development agreements for the scripted and animation departments. Prior to Gaumont, Anne was head of business affairs at FremantleMedia, and helped launch the reality competition series “American Idol,” and provided legal and business affairs on such iconic shows as “The Price is Right,” “Family Feud,” and “Baywatch.” Anne is a seasoned entertainment executive with experience in various disciplines having been head of business affairs at Lifetime where she negotiated license agreements for both series and movies for television, and was head of business affairs for the alternative group at United Talent Agency. She was also director of business affairs at CBS. Anne started her career at Paramount Pictures where she provided legal affairs for the domestic distribution team, and after Paramount, moving to Disney to provide legal affairs for the international distribution team.

Lauren Bishow

VP, Business and Legal Affairs

Lauren Bishow

Lauren Bishow joined Gaumont as Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs in June 2017. Bishow serves as a negotiator and advisor regarding the company’s day-to-day business and legal affairs at all stages of development and production. Prior to joining Gaumont, Bishow was a negotiator in the cable entertainment business affairs group at NBCUniversal. Previously, Bishow was also a member of the business and legal affairs teams at Shine America, and Generate, a division of the former Alloy Digital. She began her legal career as an associate in the commercial litigation and labor and employment departments of the law firm DLA Piper US LLP.

Bishow holds a J.D. from Villanova School of Law (2006, Magna Cum Laude, Associate Editor of Law Review) and a B.A. in Philosophy and Shakespearean Studies from Sarah Lawrence College (2002).

US FINANCE & OPERATIONS

Roman Viaris

CFO, US

Roman Viaris

Roman joined Gaumont in March, 2013 as its Head of Finance. Prior to joining Gaumont, Roman held the position of CFO of Freedom Films and Voltage Pictures, and served as financial consultant to various independent film production companies, and executive producer on various feature projects. In his capacity as CFO, Roman handled all financial matters for the companies, including accounting and structured finance for the acquisition and production of film projects. Before joining Voltage Pictures, Roman was Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration at Nu Image / Millennium Films, and was responsible for all banking and financing matters related to film production and corporate cash flow, including managing the financing and funding of over 20 films with over $200 million in production funding. Roman began his finance career at Comerica Bank’s Entertainment Group as a loan officer, managing a portfolio of production and corporate loans of over $150 million. Roman graduated from the University of Southern California, with a degree in Business Administration and an emphasis in Finance.

Antonin Dubouis

VP, Finance and Operations

Antonin Dubouis

Antonin Dubouis is the Vice President of Finance and Operations at Gaumont. He joined Gaumont's Finance Department in the Paris headquarters in 2014, where he worked on distribution of Feature Films and TV Series, prior to moving to the Los Angeles office in 2017.
Before joining Gaumont, Antonin worked in the Finance Department of the Paris Ile-de-France Chamber of Commerce on analysis, valuation, and fiscal optimization regarding the group's subsidiaries and real estate projects.
Antonin began his career at Lazard Frères within the Mergers and Acquisitions department where he worked on the merger between Veolia and Transdev, on transactions for Groupe Casino, and on advice to fossil and green energy companies.
Antonin holds a Masters Degree in Corporate Finance and Financial Engineering from Université Paris-Dauphine, France.

about gaumont

Formed in 1895, Gaumont is the first and oldest film company in the world, with offices in Paris and Los Angeles. In the past few years, our release schedule has continued to increase across film and television production, in both the French and English languages.